Georgia under federal quarantine for citrus greening

Georgia has been put under a federal quarantine to help prevent the spread of a devastating citrus disease. The quarantine follows the discovery in Georgia of "citrus greening" (CG), a disease that causes citrus fruit to be bitter and unusable. The disease is also known as Huanglongbing or HLB and is caused by the bacterial pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus. The disease was found on a lemon tree in Savannah. More details can be found at the Georgia Department of Agriculture and USDA APHIS Plant Protection and Quarrentine.

Thousand Cankers disease hits walnuts in Boulder, Colorado

Many of you have been watching for news about Thousand Cankers disease caused by an undescribe Geosmithia species and vectored by walnut twig beetle (Pityophthorus juglandis). The latest developments in Boulder, Colorado have pushed it back into the news. Approximately three hundered trees have been identified as infected and are scheduled for removal. Additional surveys are scheduled to begin to better delimit the infestation. The full story was published in the Colorado Daily.

Florida Cogongrass Cost-Share Program

Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson announced today that the department’s Division of Forestry will offer a pilot Cogongrass Treatment Cost Share Program to eligible non-industrial private landowners in several north Florida counties beginning next week.
The initial focus of the program is to impede the spread of cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica), one of the world’s worst weeds, from Florida into Georgia. Therefore the nine counties sharing borders with Georgia - Baker, Columbia, Gadsden, Hamilton, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Madison, and Nassau - will be the first priority. If funding allows, the program may be expanded to include Wakulla, Suwannee, Union, Washington, Calhoun, Liberty, Clay, Duval, Bradford, Holmes and Taylor counties.
More Info at: http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/press/2009/06102009.html

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